4 Breakout Artists From the Los Angeles Art Fairs Who Collectors Would Be Wise to Watch in the Months Ahead

There was a lot to see at the second annual editions of Frieze
Los Angeles and the upstart Felix art fair, and as we wrap up our
coverage, we take a look at four of the most interesting young
artists to watch as the year moves ahead.

Manuel Solano

Who: Although it’s not unusual for artists to
undertake dramatic shifts in their practice before age 40, it’s
safe to say that the pivot Manuel Solano had to make in the past
six years was more extreme than most. In 2014, the artist (who
identifies as gender-nonbinary) lost their sight due to
complications from an HIV-related infection, forcing them to
completely reimagine their practice from the ground up. Aided by a
photographic memory, ingenious problem-solving
abilities (including selective use of an app called Be My Eyes,
which remotely links users to sighted volunteers), and a daunting
display of sheer will, Solano has managed to ascend to a new level
of awareness in the art world precisely when logic says they should
have been finished.

On View at: Peres Projects, Felix

Why You Should Pay Attention: Solano’s
practice combines an accessible pop-culture entry point with deeper
emotional resonance and growing institutional clout. Although they
have also created more clearly intimate and personal works of late,
the film and TV characters, actors, and pop stars they often depict
are remnants of some of Solano’s strongest memories from their time
as a sighted individual. An increasing number of noteworthy
institutions have thrown their weight behind Solano’s work over the
past few years, too. In 2018, they were included in the New Museum
Triennial, “Songs for Sabotage,” and were the subject of their
first stateside solo exhibition at the ICA Miami. Solano is also
currently featured in a group exhibition at Dundee Contemporary
Arts in Scotland, with a solo show curated by João Mourão and Luís
Silva set to debut at Pivô in São Paulo later this year.

Prices: Works at the fair started at $15,000
each, and were going fast. Two were already sold by mid-afternoon
on the fair’s VIP preview day.

–Tim Schneider

Vincent Valdez

Who: Although Houston-based artist Vincent Valdez
first made the news due to a controversy sparked by
a monumental diptych, his practice is far deeper and more varied
than a single sensationalistically misread painting. Valdez’s
virtuoso figurative works unearth aspects of American culture and
history that many would prefer to leave buried forever, from
political upheaval to the abandonment of the working class and the
poor by society at large. His pieces are all the more powerful
because of their understatement.

On View at: Matthew Brown Los Angeles,
Felix

Why You Should Pay Attention: Still just
42 years old, Valdez has already been widely embraced by
significant museums and art nonprofits, with more honors to come.
His work is included in 18 prominent public institutions headlined
by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts,
Houston, and the Ford Foundation. Fresh off inclusion in “Suffering
from Realness,” a group exhibition at MASS MoCA curated by Denise
Markonish, Valdez and his galleries are preparing to announce a
20-year survey of his work at a major institution soon to be
named.

Prices: The two works on view at Felix were
priced at $6,000 and $35,000, respectively, and both found buyers
before noon on the fair’s opening day.

–Tim Schneider

Genevieve
Gaignard

Who: Los Angeles-based artist Genevieve Gaignard,
born in 1981, has a solo presentation titled “Look at Them Look at
Us” addressing issues of race, class, gender, and femininity in a
variety of media. The chameleon-like artist is a woman of color,
but her fair skin allows her to take on all manner of characters
and identities in her colorful portrait photography. Gaignard’s
sculptures and collage works incorporate vintage found objects and
imagery.

On View at: Vielmetter Los Angeles, Frieze
Los Angeles

Why You Should Pay Attention: The crowds were
nonstop at the Vielmetter booth, and buyers included none other
than celebrity power couple Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez, who
stopped by the stand and posed for photographs with the artist.
Gaignard, dressed in a jacket reminding dealers to “sell to black
collectors,” had a powerful solo show at New York’s FLAG Art
Foundation in 2018 and appeared in a group show at
Crystal Bridges in Bentonville, Arkansas, in 2018. Up next is a
solo outing opening in March at the Museum of Contemporary Art in
Santa Barbara and a show at Rockefeller Center in New York with the
Art Production Fund at the end of June.

Prices: $7,500–36,000

–Sarah Cascone

Chelsea
Culprit

Who: Originally from Kentucky, Culprit, who is now
based in Mexico City, studied at the Art Institute of Chicago
before settling in the Mexican capital. There, she’s set up a
sprawling studio where she paints unabashedly sensual riffs on
female sexuality, with a dollop of Matisse/Monet homage thrown in
with tongue barely kept in cheek. She’s had shows recently at the
Palais de Tokyo in Paris and Maureen Paley’s project space in
London, as well as at Lulu, the tiny but potent galley in her
adoptive city.

On View at: Moran Moran, Felix

Why You Should Pay Attention: Two paintings,
awash with explosive color, were sold out of the Moran Moran booth
in the opening day of Felix LA. One of the works, a dual portrait
of two female figures that Culprit titled Meesha and Zipora
Sharing Secrets and Making Plans (Ages 8 + 14) (2019) was
bought by the influential Los Angeles and Palm Beach-based
philanthropist and collector Beth Rudin DeWoody.

Prices: Paintings are priced between $10,000
and $20,000.

–Nate Freeman

The post 4 Breakout Artists From the Los Angeles Art Fairs
Who Collectors Would Be Wise to Watch in the Months Ahead
appeared first on artnet News.